Charlie Hunnam Took Benedict Cumberbatch’s Role in the ‘Lost City of Z’

Charlie Hunnam, 34, best known for portraying Jax Teller in the FX series Sons of Anarchy and Raleigh Beckett in the science fiction film Pacific Rim, has been cast in the lead role in James Gray's film adaptation of "The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon," a non-fiction book by David Grann about the story of the legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett who in disappeared in 1925 with his son in the Amazon while looking for an ancient lost city.

Hunnam has taken over the lead role in the mythical adventure from Benedict Cumberbatch who is slated to portray the titular character in Marvel Cinematic Universe's Doctor Strange which will be released to theaters on November 2016.

Hunnam will play the part of Percy Fawcett, the legendary British explorer who ventures into the Amazon rainforest on a mapping quest in 1925 and allegedly discovers the Lost City of Z, which he believed to be El Dorado or City of Gold. On his return to London, he is mocked by his colleagues who dismiss his claims as fraudulent prompting him to gather his son Jack and a companion named Raleigh Rimmell and go back to the city. They never returned.

Gray is directing Lost City of Z from a screenplay he wrote based on Grann's bestselling book. Joining Hunnam in the cast are Robert Pattinson who will be playing his assistant Henry Costin and Sienna Miller who will be portraying his wife Nina. The movie is being produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B production company. Regarding the tone of the film, Gray told Indie Wire he is aiming for the epic scale of David Lean but with a "slightly more hallucinogenic feel. Because [the protagonist] went to the jungle and sorta went mad."

Hunnam is also slated to be seen on the big-screen when Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak is released to theaters beginning October 16. He co-stars with Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, and Jessica Chastain in what the director described as "a very set-oriented, classical but at the same time modern take on the ghost story." He is likewise confirmed cast in the title role in Warner Bros.' Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur which will be directed by Guy Ritchie from a screenplay by Joby Harold.